Walking on Eggshells
by Gallade
Summary: It all started with a bikini contest. Silly? Yes. Harmless? No. Troublesome? You bet. Rated for sexual content, themes, and language.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! I've been toying with this idea and working on this fic for over a year now and I'm glad you're here. I hope you enjoy! I've worked really hard on this.**

**(Usual disclaimer junk) Rated M for sexual content and themes and language. **

**Summary: It all started with a bikini contest. Silly? Yes. Harmless? No. Troublesome? You bet.**

**Also as a sidenote, some characters that may have died in the manga appear in this story alive. I won't name names to avoid spoilers, but I wanted certain ones alive. The Konoha 11 are all around 25 years old.**

* * *

><p>It was a beautiful Friday afternoon in mid-April, and the weather was a promise that spring was here to stay. The birds were chirping, enjoying the clear skies no doubt, and a light breeze blew through the streets of Konoha. It was prime cloud-watching weather, much to the dismay of a disgruntled Shikamaru who had been forced to take over the duty of grocery shopping for mom. Days like this didn't come too often, and that only served to make Shikamaru work even faster so that he could get back to his favorite pastime.<p>

That's why when he heard the voice of his former sensei call his name, he sighed somewhat disappointedly. Sure, he loved spending time and playing shogi with Asuma more than anything else, but right now he wanted to get back to the Nara household before mom chewed his head off. She had already put him in a sour mood by sending him on this shopping trip in the first place, claiming that 'cloud-watching was a waste of time,' and that he 'should be doing something for the family, not sitting around being an ass.'

"Hey, Shikamaru!" Asuma's voice called. Shikamaru turned around, barely able to see him over the mountain of groceries he was carrying.

"What is it, Asuma sensei?" He asked. Asuma smiled and let out a puff of smoke. "You've been chosen to be a judge for the young kunoichi bikini contest," he said. Shikamaru looked at him, confused. "Come again?" He asked in disbelief. "It's funny, for a second I thought you said I was judging a bikini contest."

Asuma chuckled. "That's exactly what I said. Well, co-judging, really."

Shikamaru frowned. "Who decided that?!"

Asuma gave an apologetic shrug and inhaled deeply from his cigarette. "It was voted on by the contestants themselves. They're all your colleagues. They believe you'll be fair and honest."

Shikamaru sighed, his patience thinning. "Since when did we ever have bikini contests here anyways? This sounds fishy," He said.

Asuma nodded and rubbed his neck. "I hear ya," he agreed. "I think it's strange too but apparently the Hokage thought it would be a good idea. Something about self-esteem issues…?"

Shikamaru held his gaze, unwavering. There weren't exactly too many self-esteem issues here except for a select few girls. There must be another reason for this.

"What a drag..." He sighed, trying to fake disinterest. This whole bikini contest thing wasn't all that interesting, but there was something more to this. There just _had _to be. And at the same time...

"So who's entering?" Shikamaru asked, genuinely curious. "Like, when you said 'young,' I hope you don't mean preteens."

Asuma chuckled. "I'm assuming 'young' means your age group," he said. "Ino got word about the contest way back and she wouldn't stop talking about it with Kurenai and everyone else."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and sighed. "Figures…" he said. "Do you know who else is participating?" He pried further. Asuma shrugged and let out another puff of smoke. "You're asking the wrong guy. I was just told to tell you if I saw you. I have no clue about the details."

Shikamaru nodded understandingly. Asuma smirked. "Who is it that you're wondering about?" He asked knowingly. A surprised look flickered in Shikamaru's eyes for a moment, betraying his indifferent exterior. "It's no one in particular. I was just curious, that's all." He replied, looking to the side. _Damn, Asuma knew him too well. _

"Is she one of the girls in your year?" He pried. Shikamaru's cheeks reddened slightly as he swallowed. "It's no one," he urged, avoiding eye contact.

"It can't be Ino…" Asuma began. "That Hyuga girl?" Shikamaru was silent.

"It's pinky, isn't it?" Asuma teased. His accusation must have hit the nail on the head, because Shikamaru's blush darkened a few shades.

"…Is it really that obvious?" Shikamaru asked, looking embarrassed. His former sensei chuckled and brought his cigarette to his lips, taking in a breath and letting out a puff of smoke. "It is now that you told me. I thought you'd be tougher to crack, my friend. I just took a stab at it."

Shikamaru looked up at the sky and sighed heavily.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed of," Asuma continued. "She's a real fighter and one hell of a medic. She's definitely following in Lady Tsunade's footsteps."

Shikamaru looked at the groceries in his arms. His mom was going to kill him for taking so long.

"Anyways, sensei, I'd better get going. When is the competition?" He asked. If they wanted him to be a judge, then fine. He would humor them.

Asuma smiled. "Next Friday night."

* * *

><p>Shikamaru sat down at the judging table, Neji on his left and Kiba on his right. The seat on the far right was still empty. He turned to Neji and adjusted his tie nervously. "Who else is supposed to judge tonight?" He asked, referring to the empty seat. Neji sighed. "Take a wild guess," he said dryly. "They chose two intelligent, quiet, and sophisticated guys like us. The other two are perverted idiots."<p>

Shikamaru sighed, glancing at Kiba. If one half of the dynamic duo was already here, that meant -

"Naruto Uzumaki is in the house and ready to check out babes!" A grating voice cried from the back of the room. Shikamaru and Neji shared an equally pained glance. "_Why_ does it have to be Naruto?" Shikamaru asked, hanging his head. He liked the blonde-headed idiot, but sometimes he could be obnoxious.

Naruto strolled up to the judging table and sat in his chair. "You ready for this?" He asked Kiba enthusiastically. "You bet I am!" Kiba replied. The two high-fived.

Neji groaned and brought a hand to his forehead. "Apparently the contestants collectively decided who would judge. I have absolutely no idea why they chose Naruto and Kiba."

Shikamaru looked up thoughtfully. "Apparently I was chosen because I'm fair and honest," he said. Neji nodded. "I was chosen because I'm calm, impartial, and stoic," he said in agreement.

Naruto leaned over to look at Neji and Shikamaru. "Face it Neji, you were chosen because no matter how hot a girl is, you can't get a hard-on because you're gaaaaay ~ " Naruto sang.

Neji narrowed his eyes. "I simply don't think constantly being aroused by the appearance of your peers is an acceptable thing." He said somewhat defensively.

Kiba chuckled and looked at Naruto. "Gay," he whispered loudly. The two broke out into obnoxious laughter.

Shikamaru furrowed his brow and turned to Neji. "I know it's really none of my business, but it's okay if you _are_ gay," he said softly. Neji sighed. "I'm not gay, really. Those two decided to start a baseless rumor about me because of the fact that I have never had a girlfriend before. It's that simple."

Shikamaru shook his head. "That's silly. Don't forget that they're idiots, Neji. No one will believe anything that comes out of their mouths. And even then, so what if they do tell people? It's not exactly something to be ashamed of, and they'll be receiving more hate for sounding like homophobes."

Neji nodded slowly. "I suppose you're right..."

Kiba leaned over and smiled at everyone. "Anyways guys, I think we all look awesome tonight," he said genuinely, referring to the fact that everyone was wearing a suit and tie. Shikamaru agreed.

Naruto chuckled. "I hope all the contestants notice how spiffy we look!" He said excitedly. "...oh, yeah, and I hope the girls are hot!"

Kiba and Naruto shared another enthusiastic high-five.

Neji rolled his eyes. "Of course you do…" He said.

Shikamaru tugged at his collar nervously and checked the short list of contestants. They were all familiar names, he realized. Mostly people in their graduating class, but also others he had worked with before.

Suddenly the stage lights got brighter and the audience lights dimmed. "Aw yeah, it's starting!" Kiba cheered.

Kakashi sensei walked out onto stage, wearing his usual blue mask under a black tux and holding a white script card. "Welcome to the first-ever Konoha young kunoichi bikini contest," he read into the microphone, his voice even more disinterested sounding than usual. "I'm Kakashi Hatake and I'll be your host for this evening. I don't know how I was roped into this..." He muttered as an afterthought.

Naruto stood up and cheered. "Bring on the babes!" He cried. Shikamaru sent him a dirty look.

"Our first contestant is... *sigh* Ino Yamanaka."

There was a lot of cheering as the curtain lifted. It seemed like the entire male population of the leaf village was in the audience, watching as Ino ran onto the stage in a purple bikini that accentuated her large chest. The crowd went wild.

"Hello boys," Ino flirted in a singsong voice. "I know, I know, you can't resist me."

Shikamaru listened to the roar of the crowd behind him. She was right - they were going absolutely crazy for her. He sighed. She was like a sister to him and he had seen her wearing swimsuits before, but somehow on this stage it seemed different.

He blushed and brought a hand to his forehead. "What a drag..." He muttered. "How can I judge if I can't even take the contestants seriously? This whole thing is idiotic."

Kiba elbowed Shikamaru's side. "Lighten up and enjoy the show, bud. Ino's smokin' hot!" Shikamaru sighed and reluctantly looked up on stage, watching Ino pose for a little. While she walked backstage, the four judges scribbled little notes and a number on the score sheets in front of them.

Kakashi walked back out on the stage. "That was... interesting." He said before glancing down at his script card. "Next up we have Tenten."

The curtain opened again and Tenten walked out onto the stage, moving rather slowly.

"_She's nervous_," Shikamaru thought to himself. "_She's way more conservative than Ino is so this is a huge leap out of her comfort zone_."

Tenten was wearing a small pink halter bikini, the straps tied into large bows around her neck and back. She stopped at the front of the stage for a moment. The crowd went absolutely wild. Tenten smiled coyly and waved.

Shikamaru looked at his fellow judges to gauge their reactions. Naruto and Kiba were practically hanging over the front of the desk and salivating. "Who knew Tenten was this gorgeous?!" Kiba cried. Naruto wiped the drool from his chin and continued to stare. "Her boobs are ginormous!" He said.

Shikamaru sighed and looked over at Neji, the only sensible one. He was blushing something furious, and a little bit of blood was trickling out of his nose. "You alright?" Shikamaru asked.

That seemed to break the trance. Neji shook his head and put a hand to his nose. "Yeah, I'm fine. This... This is just... I mean, she's my _teammate_! I should be fair about this! I'm supposed to be the stoic judge!"

Shikamaru smiled. "It's okay if you're not stoic 100% of the time, you know that right?" He said good-naturedly. Neji nodded. "I guess..." He admitted, reaching for the tissue box on the judging table. It was a little suspicious that it just "happened" to be there. It was like they expected someone to get a bloody nose at some point.

Tenten flashed a winning smile at the crowd before turning and walking away.

Kakashi gave an unenthusiastic eye roll as he reentered the stage, holding his cue card up. "Next is… oh joy… coming all the way from Suna, we have Temari!"

The blonde kunoichi entered onto the stage, a confident grin on her face. She was wearing a pale blue string bikini and she knew that she looked good. Shikamaru blushed a little – they had become really close friends over the years and seeing her sexualized like this, well… that made him a little uncomfortable.

He knew that people often wondered whether they were involved in some sort of relationship, but he could never really see her as anything but a friend. It's not to say he didn't _try_. After all, people constantly pointed out the positives while congratulating him on such a catch. At one point he really wanted to see it too, but he could never really bring himself to feel anything but friendship.

"The desert has some hot babes," Kiba said breathlessly. Shikamaru sighed and brought a hand to his forehead.

Temari was just _oozing_ with confidence. She stood on the stage longer than the other contestants had, posing and wordlessly working the crowd into a frenzy. It was only when Kakashi walked back onto the stage to announce the next contestant that she finally left the spotlight.

"Isn't this just so wonderful?" Kakashi said in an unenthusiastic monotone. "Next up is our very own Hinata Hyuga."

Shikamaru couldn't help but chuckle at Kakashi's tone of voice. He was perhaps the worst match for this kind of thing. It was no secret that he possessed quite the perverted mind, and yet he was so unenthused about everything. His reactions were almost comical. Shikamaru assumed that Kakashi was just really worried about coming off as a creep if he seemed interested in these girls, so he played it off as disinterest. Secretly, he was probably having a field day.

"Umm… Hinata?" He asked, sounding puzzled as no one entered the stage.

The curtains parted just enough for the kunoichi in question to pop her head out. She had a distressed look on her face, her lavender eyes pleading with Kakashi to skip her. Kakashi put his cue cards in his pants pocket and gestured. "Here she is," he said dully.

Hinata shook her head and gave a surprised squeak, closing her eyes and attempting to sink behind the curtain. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. He didn't expect Hinata to be participating at all, unless she was forced. This was most likely the case, and if so then it would take a lot to get her out on this stage.

There was an all-too-familiar muffled voice from behind the curtain that cried out in protest. Shikamaru sighed and hung his head.

_Ino_.

He expected nothing different from the pushy blonde, and yet he thought that she at least had _some _respect for others' modesty. The curtains parted again and Hinata stumbled onto the stage as if shoved.

She shot an angry glare behind her, presumably aimed at the person who shoved her on stage. Realizing she was exposed, she slowly looked back at the giant crowd. Her face became a dangerous shade of red and she brought her hands over her chest in an attempt to cover up. She looked back at the curtain, wondering if she could slip away relatively unnoticed.

"Come on!" cried someone in the audience. Hinata gave a squeak and cowered, covering her head. This was humiliating! Here she was, caught on stage and seen by everyone. She couldn't go out there and pose like everyone else, but she was trapped on stage by Ino, who wouldn't let her backstage until she was finished. Maybe if she thought about it hard enough, she could just disappear.

Ino claimed that being in this contest would bring the shy kunoichi confidence, something that she desperately sought, but this was _not_ what Hinata had bargained for. This would only give her a heart attack, she concluded.

"Hinata, you can do it!" a male voice encouraged. She looked up, shocked. It couldn't be… Neji?

Sure enough, the male Hyuga was right there, standing behind the judge's table. The other three judges were sitting in their seats, looking somewhat surprised. "_Neji_…" Hinata whispered to herself, smiling slightly. Her cousin had faith in her! She could do this!

"_The sooner I do this, the sooner I can leave…_" She whispered to herself. Lifting her head, she put on a confident face and nodded. "_The sooner I do this, the sooner I can leave_."

Repeating the phrase to herself silently, she picked herself up and began walking the length of the stage.

She stood at the center of the stage, a smile adorning her face. The crowd began cheering and applauding Hinata's bravery, which only served to encourage her further. She put her hands on her hips and stood proudly, a slight blush tinting her cheeks.

"Way to go, Hinata!" Kiba encouraged. "She's beautiful, isn't she?" He asked the rest of the judges. Naruto squinted and stared at her navy blue bandeau top and short skirt bikini bottom. "Who knew?" He muttered, sounding dumbfounded.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes at the idiotic comments Naruto and Kiba were exchanging and turned to Neji. "I think it's awesome that Hinata's acting this confident," he said. "She's come out of her shell, temporarily at least."

Neji beamed. "I'm proud of her," he said.

Hinata looked down at the judges table and gave Neji a grateful smile. He, in turn, gave a rare smile and a nod. Her eyes scanned the rest of the table, and upon seeing Naruto she froze. All of the confidence she possessed before was gone at the sight of the blonde jinchuriki, whose eyes were on her.

_His eyes were on her._

Hinata gulped and felt a pit in her stomach, her face becoming like fire. She had to get out of here. She'd been on this stage for long enough, right? She desperately commanded her legs to move, but they were like stone pillars. She was frozen to the stage in front of everyone with no escape. Face reddening and sweating profusely, she felt her vision go black and that was it.

She had fainted.

Shikamaru's eyes widened at the sight of Hinata collapsing. It was like it was happening in slow motion. Her eyes closed and she began to go limp, her knees buckling. "Neji, she's fainting!" He cried, turning to the Hyuga, but his seat was empty. He looked back up on stage and saw Neji rushing to catch his cousin as she fell. Shikamaru felt a sense of relief come over him as the jounin caught her. It wasn't a rare occurrence for Hinata to faint, but up on stage it seemed different, scarier somehow.

"Hinata, are you alright?" Neji asked gently, hoping to get an answer from his cousin. Her eyes fluttered open and she blushed. "N-Neji, what happened?" She asked. Neji gave a sigh of relief. "You passed out on stage, but I caught you before you collapsed completely. Now, are you hurt?"

Hinata shook her head and smiled. "I'm alright, th-thank you. F-for catching me, I mean."

Neji nodded. "Are you alright to get up?"

Hinata nodded in response. "I'm pretty sure."

Hinata stood up somewhat unsteadily and, regaining her balance, she looked out at the crowd. "She's alright, everybody!" Neji cried, reassuring the crowd. There was a round of applause as the jounin walked his cousin backstage and then returned to his seat at the judging table.

"That was quick thinking, Neji," Shikamaru said in awe as Neji returned to his seat. Neji nodded. "Thanks, I'm just glad I saw it happening."

Kiba leaned forward in his seat, catching Neji's attention. "That was an amazing catch, man. I'm so glad she's okay," he said enthusiastically.

...

After the fainting scare, the next few contestants went by uneventfully. Shikamaru barely even paid attention, scribbling random numbers on the score sheet and staring blankly ahead. He felt distracted for reasons unknown even to him, and it felt like this contest was dragging on forever. Why had he agreed to do this?

"Our last contestant is our very own Sakura Haruno!" Kakashi read from his card, sounding mildly amused. That definitely got Shikamaru's attention.

The curtains parted and the pink-haired kunoichi walked out onto the stage in a plain red halter bikini. She bore a beautiful smile on her face, a somewhat shy but determined grin. She knew she was beautiful, Shikamaru was sure of it. He looked down at the judging scorecard, trying not to stare for too long.

"Go Sakuraaaa!" Naruto cried, standing up. He had a wide grin on his face, a faint blush tinting his tanned cheeks. "You look great!"

Sakura looked at her teammate and beamed. Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow and looked up at the pink-haired kunoichi on stage. He half-expected her to beat Naruto for ogling, but maybe she was taking it as encouragement…? Either way, she was a sight to behold and he didn't question it further.

"I don't know why you've got your pants in a twist over her, Naruto," Kiba interjected rather loudly.

Shikamaru stared straight ahead, but his attention was now on the conversation happening next to him.

Naruto sat back down in his seat and looked over at his dog-like friend. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Kiba shrugged. "I mean, she's cute and all but she's definitely no Ino or Hinata or… well, anyone else, really."

Naruto squinted up at the stage, a confused look on his face. "Well, she's Sakura-chan, I think she's beautiful! I s'pose you're right though. Her boobs are so small compared to everyone else here, and she _does _have a flatter ass, but…"

Shikamaru frowned and gave them a sharp look. "Is that _all_ you guys care about in a girl?" He asked, careful to sound as unenthused as usual but instead coming off as disgruntled. "There's more to a woman than her body you know."

Naruto crossed his arms and pouted. "Sheesh, no need to bite my head off."

Kiba quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah, what's it matter to ya anyways?"

Shikamaru looked to the side, wondering what to say next. He didn't mean to snap like that, but _come on! _That was pretty rude of them.

Still, why _did_ it matter so much to him? Wasn't he supposed to be nonchalant about everything? Other people's comments shouldn't faze him, why should he care what they think about Sakura?

"It's nothing," he said finally. "Just forget about it."

"Whatever, man," Kiba said, turning to face the stage again. "Sakura's almost done anyways."

Sakura had turned around, and with a final wave to the audience, she began walking backstage.

"And that concludes this year's Konoha young kunoichi bikini contest. We'll let the judges tabulate the results and we'll be with you shortly to announce the winners," Kakashi said with a sigh.

Shikamaru looked down at Sakura's scorecard in front of him and bit his lip, thinking about what to say. With a smile, he began writing his comments.

...

"Hello everyone, thanks for your patience," Kakashi said. "Behind me are all of the *cough* lovely contestants from tonight. Before we announce the winners, let's give them all a round of applause."

Shikamaru brought his hands together and looked up on stage at all of the contestants. They were lined up in a large arc, all posing in their swimsuits. Rolling his eyes, Shikamaru put on a disgusted face and began clapping with the other judges.

"Now the results…" Kakashi began, pulling a card out of an envelope. "Congratulations to Ino Yamanaka, this year's miss Konoha young Kunoichi…"

Ino balled up her fists and squealed excitedly, turning to the girls around her and gesturing eagerly.

"…Runner-up," Kakashi finished pointedly, turning to shoot Ino a stern look.

Ino deflated a little, immediately pouting and crossing her arms defiantly. Shikamaru smirked a little. Someone needed to knock Ino down a peg and this was just _perfect_.

Captain Yamato entered the stage, wearing a white tux and carrying a small bouquet of flowers. He handed them to Ino sheepishly, her cerulean eyes shooting daggers at him. He bowed his head and quickly exited the stage.

"And now the moment you've all been waiting for…" Kakashi drawled, giving an eye-roll for good measure. "The winner of this year's young Kunoichi bikini contest is…."

*Dramatic pause*

Kakashi held up his card. "The winner is Hinata Hyuga."

Shikamaru smiled a little and began clapping, appreciating the outcome of the contest. At least the winner was humble and sweet and wouldn't let the title go to her head. He nudged Neji. "You proud?"

Neji was practically beaming. "Way to go, Hinata!" He cried uncharacteristically. He turned to the lazy genius. "You bet I am. Perhaps she'll realize her own strengths now."

Shikamaru smiled a lazy little smile and looked up on stage. Hinata was as red as a tomato and she looked positively mortified. The other girls had begun to crowd around her and congratulate her. Ino, though obviously upset that she had been beaten, actually seemed _proud_ that Hinata had won. She had pushed her way to Hinata's side and was now talking to her.

Yamato entered the stage again, this time carrying a large bouquet of roses, a sash, and a tiara. He crowned Hinata and placed the sash over her shoulder, handing over the roses and gesturing towards the winner. Hinata shook her head, her eyes tightly screwed shut. Tenten placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder and pointed out at the judge's table. Hinata opened her eyes and peeked.

She saw Neji standing and clapping proudly, the other judges following suit. She smiled and bowed gratefully.

"And this concludes this year's contest," Kakashi said, standing in the center of the stage. Sighing audibly, he continued. "Thank you all for coming and remember that _everyone _is a winner. See you all next year." Shaking his head and dropping the cue card, he walked offstage.

Shikamaru stood up and stretched, sighing. "What a drag."

* * *

><p>"What did you need me for, Lady Tsunade?" Shikamaru asked as he entered the Hokage's room and approached her cluttered desk. A few days had passed since the bikini contest and Shikamaru had settled into a very nice and relaxed routine of cloud-watching and napping.<p>

He relished the fact that he hadn't been needed for anything major these past couple days and had grown used to being lazy. Still, it was about time Tsunade called on him again and he wasn't surprised in the least that his relaxing mini-vacation would have to come to an end.

"Ah Shikamaru, I'm glad you could get here so quickly," Tsunade said, promptly gesturing for him to come closer. She turned to Shizune and nodded. "Go fetch her," she ordered. "Yes m'lady," Shizune responded with a nod, leaving the room.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Fetch who?" He muttered.

"Your partner for this mission."

"Mission?"

Tsunade folded her hands and nodded. "Yes, I'm sending you on a mission and you definitely need to be briefed on its details. It's quite a doozy."

Shikamaru nodded. "Go on."

"It's going to take a lot of explanation and I'd rather explain most of it once your partner gets here. I suppose I can delve into the backstory a little. It all starts with the bikini contest."

Shikamaru smirked knowingly. "So there _was_ an ulterior motive behind it. I suspected as much."

Tsunade gave him a curious look. "I suppose that would have been quite obvious to you. The four judges were picked by the girls just as you were told, that much is true, but I had a say in the matter as well. You see, this mission takes place in a beachside town and you two will need to spend a lot of time around each other in swim suits."

Shikamaru frowned and crossed his arms. "Uh-huh?"

"And because this mission requires very careful acting as you'll soon hear, we needed to assess your attitudes around attractive girls in bikinis. The four judges I picked are all very strong and very capable shinobi who can hold their own as needed, but you'll need to play your part appropriately and the judging gave insight into how you guys act around other girls."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and frowned. "And?"

Tsunade looked at him sternly. "You'd better take this seriously, it's important. We needed a male who would fit all of the criteria. If he was too loud or noisy about his opinions, he wouldn't make a good candidate when he was surrounded by other women on the beach. We needed a guy who won't be blinded by other beauties while paying full attention to his partner. She will be playing the role of your wife, and you need to pretend to have eyes for her and her only even though she isn't the most eye-catching girl on the beach."

Shikamaru made a sickened face. "This sounds like way too much work. What a drag."

"You fit all of the criteria that we needed. You're the perfect tactician and I know you will plan everything flawlessly without blowing your cover. You handled yourself very well at the bikini contest. You weren't loud or obnoxious like Kiba or Naruto."

Shikamaru crossed his arms. "What about Neji? I'm sure he could pull this off just as well as I can."

Tsunade gave Shikamaru a harsh stare. "You are _not _worming your way out of this one, Nara. You are more ideal for this than Neji because you weren't as disinterested as he was. Although Neji would be able to ignore the other girls on the beach, he also wouldn't be able to act out the part of having eyes only for his lover."

"And what makes you think I _will_ only have eyes for my 'lover'?" Shikamaru asked.

Tsunade smiled for the first time in this conversation. "Because of the way you wrote about her."

Shikamaru's heart skipped a beat. That meant…

"She's here m'lady!" Shizune's voice called.

"Send her in," the Hokage ordered.

Shikamaru turned around and looked at the doorway. His heart-stopping realization had been right.

It was Sakura.

Shikamaru's pulse raced. He hoped that Tsunade wouldn't tell Sakura what he'd written about her. That would be absolutely mortifying.

"Oh, hello Shikamaru. What did you need m'lady?" Sakura asked as she approached the Hokage's desk.

"Good timing, Sakura. I was just beginning to brief Shikamaru on your mission. Glad you could join us."

Sakura looked puzzled. "Mission?" She asked, eyeing Shikamaru nervously. He was the only one here, so that meant… it was just them? They were going on a mission alone?

"So Sakura, as I already told Shikamaru this mission takes place in Tsumi, a small beachside town on the mainland border of the land of waves. You see, the next town over from Tsumi was completely wiped out in the past few months."

"Wiped out?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes, completely wiped out. Most of the townspeople were killed, and the few survivors managed to flee. The citizens of Tsumi didn't think much of it until their people started dying too."

Sakura's jaw dropped. "What could it be?"

"Are we being sent to investigate, then?" Shikamaru asked.

Tsunade laced her fingers together. "Almost. We have our suspicions as to who could be behind this, but we need to know for sure before making moves. And – if our suspicions are correct – this will also be an assassination mission."

Sakura nodded. "So we go in, gather information, and kill once we know for sure?"

"Not quite," Tsunade said. "It's more complicated than that. You see, the killings all happened in a very suspicious way. Men would disappear from their homes only to show up dead weeks later. To me, this sounds like the work of Anzu Takara, a missing-nin who has a background in prostitution."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"We need to kill Anzu before she begins killing off the citizens of Tsumi. This is a good chance for us to gain allies in the land of waves, and Tsumi is a small but influential port town. This could be to our advantage. We've come up with a way to get you two into town and in a position to gather information, but it will require precise acting and sharp intelligence, something I know the two of you have."

Sakura shook her head. "I'm a bit confused, m'lady. This whole thing seems pretty far-fetched. I mean, no offense against Shikamaru, but why us? What do we have to do with this whole scheme?"

"You see, we've decided to send a pair of ninja to pose as a married couple. You will be spending a lot of time at the beach to gather information and that is where the bikini contest came into play."

"The bikini contest was just a front?" Sakura asked, her voice rising slightly.

"We needed to find the perfect candidates for this mission. We need you guys to blend in and in order to do that, we needed a girl who was average-looking in a bikini. If you're too eye-catching, you'll draw unnecessary attention to yourselves."

Sakura's face grew red with anger. "_Average _-looking?!" She cried. "And I suppose this is _me_?!"

Shikamaru cringed, recalling the rather rude comments Naruto and Kiba were sharing. They must have been harsh in their scoring.

"Yes Sakura, the judges decided this."

Shikamaru could feel Sakura's eyes burning a hole in the side of his head and knew that it would be best not to make eye contact. His eyebrows were knitted into a firm scowl.

"Of course, that's how the female half of the couple was selected. The male half was also selected during the contest. The four judges were analyzed based on their behavior around women in swimsuits."

"Oh?" Sakura asked, her voice dripping with poison.

"In the end, we chose Shikamaru because he will handle himself well around tons of gorgeous women. You two are going to pretend to be married and deeply in love. You will spend time at the beach gathering information while pretending to be madly in love with one another. It needs to be _convincing_. Everyone who comes in contact with you needs to know that you are in love. It should feel natural and they should believe it without question."

Sakura made a rude noise. "And you want me to pretend I'm in love with _him_?! He was one of the judges! They're the pigs who think I'm just 'average-looking.'"

Tsunade smirked and nodded. "Actually Sakura, in his comments about you Shikamaru wrote –"

Shikamaru widened his eyes and looked at Tsunade like a deer in headlights. He shook his head wildly, silently pleading with the Hokage not to reveal what he said about Sakura.

Sakura growled loudly and stomped forward, leaning on the front of the Hokage's desk and breathing heavily. "I don't fucking want to hear what he said about me. How in the hell could I pretend to be in love with this – this – absolute _scumbag_?!"

"Sakura!" Tsunade cried angrily. "That is no way to talk in front of your Hokage! I am your superior and you _will _obey my orders. You will shut up right now or heaven forbid I will _make_ you!"

Sakura flinched a little and looked down. "Alright m'lady," she said in a tiny voice.

Shikamaru stared at Sakura, his lips pressed together in a thin line and his eyes glazed over with hurt. He could tell her how he actually felt, sure, but what good would it do? She wouldn't believe him.

"Now where was I? Oh, I'll just start from the beginning. You two will pose as a couple who is very much in love. Although you will be surrounded by beautiful women on the beach, Shikamaru will only have eyes for you, Sakura. You will gather information on the killings and see if you can get any leads. If this is indeed Anzu we're dealing with then you'll need to kill her. Shikamaru, Anzu is beautiful but if you play your role correctly, you shouldn't be fazed by it. Don't forget that she is very dangerous. Remember, you only have eyes for your wife. Gain Anzu's trust and kill her without raising suspicion."

Shikamaru sighed and looked over at Sakura uncomfortably. She was absolutely livid. "What makes you so sure this is the work of Anzu?" He asked cautiously.

"As a prostitute, Anzu was well-known for being a dominatrix. She liked controlling and torturing her customers and the bodies of the victims seem to match her style. We think that she tortures men once she captures them and uses them for sex, keeping them imprisoned until they die a brutal death."

Shikamaru made a face, feeling like he knew where this was going. "And let me guess, you want me to get captured and kill her when she's vulnerable?"

Tsunade smiled grimly. "That's the plan. You can use your quick wit and power of analysis to make sure you don't become another victim, and Sakura can provide all of the backup you need to complete the assassination."

Sakura clenched her fists at her sides. "This isn't _fair_! Tsunade, how could you do something like this?!"

"Sakura, this is about the mission. People are dying."

Sakura shook her head, her eyes burning dangerously. "How could you just let them _insult_ me like that?! This is humiliating! I don't want to do this." Her voice was dark and angry with pained undertones.

Tsunade slammed a fist onto her desk and stood up furiously. "Sakura this is an ORDER and for the last time, you are going on this mission. I understand that you are hurt, but pull yourself together and suck it up, dammit. I never thought I would be disrespected like this by my own pupil."

Sakura's eyes widened and she fell silent. Shikamaru eyed her nervously, the air thick with her suppressed anger.

"You two will leave right away. I want you to handle this as adults. Do NOT let emotions get in the way of this mission's success," Tsunade said pointedly, looking at Sakura. "The most important thing is that it all goes according to plan and no one gets hurt. Understand?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Understood."

* * *

><p><strong>Well, what do you guys think so far? Do you like it? Please leave a review if you can, that would just make my day! :) Constructive criticism is appreciated, but please don't be mean. <strong>

**I wrote the bikini contest thing many many years ago (back in the awkward days of middle school) and stumbled upon the old fic in my room. I decided to expand on the idea and make it into a more viable story, and this is what came of it! **

**Again, thank you for reading! I should update pretty regularly so please review review review! **

**-Gallade**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello you lovely readers :) Thank you so much for all of the reviews of the first chapter! **

**I am trying to keep them mostly in-character, but there might be some slight OOC-ness. I'm doing what I can to avoid this. This chapter is probably the worst offender for out-of-character Sakura, but it gets better. Try to think about how you'd feel if you were in her place.**

**This chapter is a little on the short side, so forgive me for that. I hope you enjoy!**

**-Gallade**

* * *

><p>Shikamaru sighed and looked up at the midday sky. He stood by the village gate and paced nervously. Sakura was supposed to be here already and yet there was no sign of her. This was all so <em>troublesome<em>. Tsunade enraged Sakura so much during their mission briefing that Shikamaru was actually dreading this long mission with her. He would have jumped at the chance to spend this much time with her before, but she was angry and he knew she wanted to use him as a punching bag.

What was Tsunade _thinking_?! Why did she go about telling Sakura she was just average-looking? Sakura was well-aware of the fact that her body was lacking the curves that her peers possessed, and Tsunade also knew that it was a bit of a sore spot for her. So why had she gone and pointed it out like that?! And now, Sakura was mad at _him_ for it because he was a judge. He leaned against the village gate and stared at the ground beneath his feet.

He _had_ to come up with a way to make her see that he didn't share the opinions of the other judges without just saying it. He couldn't say what he felt – she wouldn't believe him and he just wasn't ready to tell her. This was so silly.

He wasn't even sure when he'd begun to fall for the pink-haired kunoichi in the first place. For a while, she was just another girl from their year. He appreciated her talents as a medical ninja and respected her abilities, but he never really thought much beyond that. As time had gone on, however, he began to want to see her more often. He landed himself in the hospital several times after returning from particularly dangerous missions and found himself hoping he could see her. That was his first clue and he denied it. He began to admire every little thing she did and soon she invaded his dreams. It was when she invaded his waking thoughts that he finally admitted it – he was smitten. Hanging out with Ino suddenly wasn't as much of a drag if Sakura came along. She was fun and quick-witted and made for a wonderful companion.

He glanced down the road and saw a slender figure walking towards the gate. As the person came closer, he saw the unmistakable pink hair and felt a pit form in his stomach. It was Sakura.

"Hey," Shikamaru greeted as she approached him. "You ready to head out?"

Sakura gave him a sour look and nodded without a word. Shikamaru sighed in frustration, the uncomfortableness of the situation frightening him somewhat. Sure, it wasn't uncommon to feel less-than-comfortable when traveling on missions with unfamiliar people, but it shouldn't have felt this way. He knew Sakura better than this.

"Let's go then," Shikamaru said, trying to sound as normal as possible. He began to head outside the town gates and Sakura soon followed suit. "We've got a long day of traveling ahead of us."

Shikamaru sighed and picked up speed after getting no response from Sakura. If she was going to give him the silent treatment, he supposed it was better than chewing him out the whole time. Still, close teamwork and flawless acting were essential to the success of this mission, and that meant they'd require good communication. They would need to talk sooner or later.

Shikamaru felt a rush of wind next to him and realized that Sakura had taken a running leap into the trees overhead. Sighing, Shikamaru followed her into the trees – traveling would be faster that way, after all.

Nimbly leaping from branch to branch, Shikamaru could see Sakura up ahead. She was moving faster than necessary to travel. Shikamaru shook his head. He knew she was doing it to avoid him and to show him she was angry, but that was no way to travel long distances and she would surely tire herself out that way. They needed their energy. Shikamaru pumped chakra into his legs and pushed ahead to meet her.

"You know, there's no need to tire yourself out like this," Shikamaru said good-naturedly. "We're in absolutely no hurry."

Sakura furrowed her brow and pushed ahead even faster without saying anything.

Shikamaru frowned, his usual facial expression coming over him. "What a pain."

…

The next few hours were perhaps some of the most uncomfortable Shikamaru had experienced in recent memory. Every attempt he made to lighten the mood only ended in more awkwardness. Sakura ignored his every word, or even worse – she took stabs at him. Her sharp words and acid tongue lashed at Shikamaru, and though he tried to ignore them he couldn't help but feel hurt in the process.

When Sakura was mad, usually her fists flew and the offending person was punched through a wall of something like that. This time she wasn't physically taking out her anger, which worried Shikamaru a lot. Something was different about her now and it made the other shinobi very uneasy.

He'd rather take a beating than deal with this.

"Sakura, will you please listen to me?" Shikamaru asked wearily, breaking the hours of silence that preceded his words.

Sakura stopped abruptly on a thick tree limb and glared at Shikamaru. Shikamaru widened his eyes and skidded to a halt next to her.

Sakura looked furious. "You want me to listen? I'm listening. Now talk," she spat.

Shikamaru frowned. "Sakura, what the hell are you so upset about?"

Sakura's face grew red. "What do you mean 'what are you upset about?' What could possibly be confusing to you!?"

Shikamaru kept her gaze. "I mean, why are you _still_ so upset? Is it about earlier? Because I can explain, I-"

Sakura shook her head and turned to leap away. "Unbelievable! You're absolutely unbelievable!"

Shikamaru grabbed her arm and held on firmly as Sakura tried to escape. "Please just talk to me."

"You want me to talk to you?! Fine, I'll talk to you." Sakura spat, turning to face the spiky-haired shinobi. Yanking her arm free of his grip, she stood her ground. "I think it is absolutely insulting what you judges said about me. I feel so humiliated and I never even should have gotten on that stage!"

"I never said those things–"

"Shut it. Do you realize how horrible it is to insult a girl's figure like that? I have feelings you know! When I put on a swimsuit I'm at my most vulnerable, and you guys completely tore me apart and highlighted all of my insecurities. Do you realize how that makes me FEEL? I thought you were my friends!"

"Sakura, really –"

"And to have my own MENTOR insult me like that. I'm just average-looking?! I know I'm not beautiful like Ino or Hinata, I understand that, but did she have to say it out loud? That was just the icing on the cake! I have to stand by and play the part of your wife when you judges said those things about me?!"

"But I didn't –"

"AND I have to stand around and be oblivious to these beautiful women while you ogle them, all while knowing exactly what they will think of me? What YOU'LL think of me?!"

Shikamaru was silent. She didn't know a thing about what he thought about her.

"Well I can't do that! I'm not going to just be okay with everyone thinking these things about me!"

"Sakura, you can't change what people will think about you. That's just how it goes. Does it matter what others think about you? In the end, does it _truly_ matter?" Shikamaru shot at her.

Sakura looked to the side, unable to counter that point. "What do you care? What do you know? You don't understand!"

Shikamaru kept a level head. "If I don't understand you, then please help me to understand. I'm not out to get you Sakura."

She shook her head and distanced herself. "Shikamaru I can't. I just really can't do this right now."

Shikamaru's face fell. "Sakura, please… there's no way we can do this mission while we're at each other's throats. Can we at least come to an understanding? I hate seeing you this upset."

Sakura folded her arms and scoffed.

Shikamaru sighed and brought a hand to the back of his neck. "I know you're hurt and humiliated by what the other judges and Tsunade said about you –and I don't blame you for that – but please just know that I had no part in the insults."

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "But you _knew_ they said those things and you didn't stop them."

Shikamaru groaned. "Don't you get it?! I can't control what others say and neither can you. People are going to say nasty things, that much will always be true, but you can't let it get to you!" He said, raising his voice. With another groan, he continued.

"I stood up for you, dammit! I gave you compliments and all you care about is the criticism! Do you know how insulting that is? I understand that you're hurt but that's no reason to take it out on me when I didn't do anything to you!"

By the end of his rant, Shikamaru was practically shouting. He hadn't let his temper get this out-of-control in God knows how long. He was shaking and out of breath.

Sakura was looking at him now, unsure of what to say. Her eyes darted from side to side as she analyzed the taller shinobi's face. Her eyes were wide and unsure, glistening at the corners. Shikamaru's face softened. It seemed that Sakura had gotten her anger out now – she looked pitiful. Her lip quivered as she stared at him, betraying the otherwise stony look she was attempting to give.

She wasn't fooling him. She looked about ready to break down and cry.

Sakura took another step back and turned so that Shikamaru couldn't see her face.

"Sakura…" Shikamaru began gently, taking a step towards her.

She shook her head and backed away more, turning to face the other direction. "Don't."

"Sakura, it's getting pretty late and I think we're pretty much at the border of the land of waves. We need to start thinking about finding somewhere to settle for the night."

Sakura closed her eyes, bringing a hand to her mouth. "Oh."

Her voice was wavering and Shikamaru was sure that she was about ready to cry at this point. He wasn't sure what to do. Dammit, he hated when girls cried! He felt so helpless and though he wanted to help, he never knew how to. Growing up, Ino had been quite the crybaby despite her confident and tough exterior. When he tried talking to her, she said she wanted to be left alone, but when he left her alone she complained about no one talking to her. It was always a messy ordeal and he never seemed to guess right.

And now the guesswork would be left up to him again.

"Sakura, let's head somewhere safe for the night and then we can talk more, okay?" He said finally.

Sakura nodded and turned back around. "Right," she said in a steadier voice. She blinked the tears from her eyes and furrowed her brow. "The forest is thinning out, perhaps we can travel on foot from here on out." She reasoned. "Besides, if we're close to wave country we're going to need to start acting and looking like civilians. Oh, and we need to suppress our chakra as well."

Shikamaru nodded and agreed. Well, they seemed to be getting somewhere at least. They weren't shouting and they weren't silent. It was progress.

"Let's see if there is a place to stay somewhere around here," Shikamaru said, dropping to the ground. Sakura was close behind him. The two landed gracefully on the ground and straightened themselves out.

"Maybe there's a house around here where the residents aren't opposed to letting two travelers spend the night," Sakura said, beginning to walk towards the thinning edge of the forest.

"Wait," Shikamaru said. "Your headband. And your ninja gear. We need to look like civilians."

"Oh, right…" Sakura said, reaching up and untying the red band in her hair. "I hope you brought a change of clothes for yourself. I only packed a few outfits for myself. I thought we could shop for anything else we need once we get to town."

Shikamaru nodded and reached for a scroll on his flak jacket. "I packed a bag for me and a large purse for you so we can hold our stuff like normal townspeople." In a puff of smoke, a black backpack and a large tote bag appeared.

Sakura's eyes lit up. "That's so thoughtful. Thank you." She picked up the tote bag and opened it up, putting her headband and weapons pouch inside.

Shikamaru nodded and smiled. "Of course." He picked up the backpack and rummaged through it, pulling out a plain gray t-shirt and navy shorts. "Now, you can definitely get away with wearing your clothes and looking like a civilian, but I'm a whole different story. This outfit is standard for leaf ninja and it's recognizable anywhere. I'm going to need to change."

Without hesitation, Shikamaru unzipped his flak jacket and took off the loose blue shirt underneath, leaving him exposed in his fishnet undershirt. Sakura blushed and averted her eyes, though she wasn't quite sure why. She'd seen male bodies countless times before, and yet it felt totally different as Shikamaru changed his clothes right in front of her.

"I hope you don't mind looking away for a little while longer," Shikamaru began. "I'm going to change into my shorts."

"No problem. Tell me when it's safe."

…

…

"Alright, you're free to look now."

Sakura sighed in relief and turned around to face her teammate, who was now wearing civilian clothes and stuffing his regular clothes into the backpack. He looked up and caught Sakura's gaze. "Well?" He asked. "How does it look?"

Sakura nodded. "Convincing."

Shikamaru smirked. "Great. That's exactly what we need."

The two straightened up and began to walk out of the forest.

"Oh, and just to warn you, we're going to need to act a lot more comfortable around each other once we really get into town. Married couples aren't afraid to change in front of one another."

The sound of a fist coming in contact with something (or _someone_) rang through the forest, followed by a mumble of "Troublesome…"

…

Sakura and Shikamaru walked for some distance, leaving the large and dense forest behind and following a dirt path.

"There should be some place to stay around here," Shikamaru said somewhat distractedly. He glanced around the area as they walked. "At least I hope there is. If not, we'll have to camp out for the night and I didn't bring a tent."

Sakura blew her bangs aside and frowned. "I didn't think we'd need one so I didn't bring one. I didn't pack a sleeping bag either."

Shikamaru glanced at his traveling partner wearily. She sounded upset with him all over again - didn't they just settle this dispute? Then again... settle wasn't the right word for it. He'd just momentarily calmed her down.

And really, she had every right to be so upset. Kiba was very critical of her, and he even managed to convince Naruto as well. And though she hadn't overheard their commentary like he had, she _did_ hear similar criticism from the mouth of her very own mentor.

And after she reacted negatively to such criticism - as any normal human being would - she was shot down and told to suck it up. That really wasn't the ideal way for the Hokage to treat her student, and Shikamaru hoped Tsunade realized this.

"We'll figure something out, don't you worry," Shikamaru said. "I think I see a light up ahead. A house, maybe?"

Sakura looked hopeful for a second before turning to Shikamaru and frowning. "You'd better be right, dammit. I'm in no mood to sleep on the ground."

Shikamaru sighed and looked up at the dark night sky. It was beautiful out here when they were so far from all of the village lights. The charcoal sky was clear and covered in pinpoints of bright light. Normally he wouldn't mind camping out on a night like this, but Sakura was in a hell of a mood and it wasn't worth the trouble to make her angrier. He sighed and kept walking towards the house where they could hopefully stay for the night.

Soon they arrived at the doorstep of the medium-sized house. This looked promising at least - with a house this size, perhaps there would be room for them to stay the night. Nodding at his sulky traveling partner, Shikamaru knocked on the door.

Several moments of complete silence passed. Shikamaru glanced at the window, clearly illuminated from the inside, and frowned at the door. "Well, the lights are on. Someone _should_ be home."

Sakura balled up her fists and stormed over to the door. "Open up!" She cried, pounding on the door.

"Wait!" Shikamaru said urgently, putting himself in between the hotheaded kunoichi and the door. Placing his hand on her shoulder, he looked seriously into her emerald eyes. "We don't want to anger whoever lives here."

The door opened with a creak, startling the two ninja. In the doorway stood a gruff man who appeared to be in his fifties. He scowled at the couple standing on the doorstep. "Can I help you?" He asked, his voice gravelly and deep.

Sakura flinched at the sight of this intimidating man. If this was the homeowner, things weren't looking good as far as shelter went.

Shikamaru nodded politely and put an arm around Sakura . "I'm sorry to bother you, sir, it's just that my wife and I are traveling to a nearby town and it's gotten a little late. We were looking for a place to stay for the night." He gave Sakura's shoulder a little squeeze, eliciting a sharp glare from the kunoichi.

The man raised a thick eyebrow, his steely gaze unwavering. "Your... _wife_, you say?"

Shikamaru looked seriously into Sakura's eyes, wearing a false smile. "Yes, my wife."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at Shikamaru before looking at the man with a smile. "My lovely husband and I were wondering if you would be open to letting two weary travelers spend the night," she said with a bat of her long eyelashes.

Her tone was sickeningly sweet and false as all hell. She was still angry, that much was certain. Shikamaru looked at the man, scouring his face for any sign that he caught onto Sakura's bitter lie. He was silent, the intimidating scowl still plastered on his face.

"Listen, sir, we mean no harm. If we're asking too much then we can leave," Shikamaru said cordially. "I'm sorry for causing you trouble."

"Ken'ichi, who's at the door?" A soft female voice asked from inside the house.

The man sighed and turned his head to respond. "It's nothing, Aiko," he said impatiently.

Shikamaru immediately perked up somewhat, squeezing Sakura's shoulder again to convey his hopes. She gave a low growl in warning. Shikamaru held up a hand and mouthed 'wait.' This could be their lucky chance.

A short and stout woman pushed her way past the tall man and instantly brightened at the sight of the two ninja. "Hello," she said in a friendly manner to the couple, and then immediately turned to the man. "Ken'ichi! Why didn't you say we had guests?!"

The man's facial expression softened, his thick eyebrows relaxing to a neutral look. "Aiko, dear, they're asking about staying for the night. We don't know these people, we can't just let two strangers in the house..."

The woman tsked and looked at her husband sternly. "Ken'ichi..." She growled in warning.

"But -"

"Are you defying me?"

The man sighed and held his hands up in surrender as he retreated behind his wife, shaking his head in disapproval.

The woman wore a victorious little smirk. "I'm sorry about that, you two. What can I do for you?"

Shikamaru's false smile drooped into his usual lazy frown. Was every woman this pushy and controlling?! Damn! Still, there was no room to complain about how troublesome women were when their chances of staying the night were at stake. For once, he was relieved.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, ma'am. You see, my wife and I are heading to a nearby town for vacation and it's taking longer than we thought." Shikamaru began.

Sakura put a hand firmly on Shikamaru's chest and gave a false smile, never once breaking the kind-looking woman's gaze. "Before we knew it, it was dark outside and you see... well, we need a place to stay the night. Is there any chance you have room here for us?" Sakura asked, putting on her sweetest puppy-dog eyes. "If it's not too much trouble I mean."

Shikamaru hid his shock at Sakura's convincing performance. She wasn't such a bad actress after all! Perhaps it really wouldn't be so hard to act out their parts to complete the mission. It was troublesome, yes, but only if she continued to hold this grudge against him.

The woman smiled and clasped her hands together. "Well I'm certain we can find room for the two of you. Gosh you are adorable! Follow me." With a wave of the hand, Aiko turned and walked into the house, gesturing for the two leaf shinobi to follow her inside.

…

"Alright, you two! Breakfast is at 8:00 tomorrow morning. I hope you have a good night's rest."

"Thank you for everything, Aiko," Sakura said warmly as she and Shikamaru entered the guest room. With a groan, she broke the fake smile she'd been wearing all night and shut the door.

"Glad Aiko was here to tip the scale in our favor," Shikamaru said, hoping to start conversation.

"Mhm."

Shikamaru set his backpack down next to him, frowning. "Sakura, you're not still mad, are you?"

Silence.

"Sakura, what's the matter?"

"Just leave me alone, okay? I'm really in no mood to talk," she said harshly, setting her purse on the bedside table and sitting on the bed.

"Troublesome..." Shikamaru muttered. "I'm going to take a shower, if that's alright with you. When I come back, do you think we can at least be civil?"

Sakura crossed her arms and gave an impatient sigh. It was obvious to Shikamaru that she wanted him out for a little.

Maybe she'll simmer down a little with some time to herself.

…

The following morning, Aiko and Ken'ichi found Shikamaru sleeping on the floor next to the locked guest room door, clad in little more than a net shirt and some underwear.

Sakura clearly hadn't simmered down like Shikamaru hoped she would.

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><p><strong>So what do you think so far? Leave me a review if you can! It would really make my day :) As always, constructive comments are much appreciated, but don't just be outright mean to me. Thank you for reading! I will be updating soon, I promise!<strong>

**-Gallade**


	3. Chapter 3

**The previous chapter was short, but this one more than makes up for it! A lot happens in this chapter and I'm sorry if it feels like the mission is rushed at all. They could be doing this mission for months if things didn't go their way at least a little :) Just think of it as helping the plot along! **

**I'd also like to thank everyone who left reviews :) It makes me so happy that people are reading this when I've given it so much time and thought.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy! I've worked really hard on this! -Gallade**

* * *

><p>"You ready for this?" Shikamaru asked his mission partner. They were nearing the town of Tsumi, he could feel it. The forested area had cleared a long way back, and the air began to smell salty like the sea. They were close. The two were now traveling through a grassy hilly area.<p>

"Yeah, I'm ready," Sakura replied sourly from behind him. She had been dragging her feet and falling behind him ever since they started traveling again.

"Oh great, we're not doing this again, are we?" Shikamaru drawled. "Sakura, you were fine ten minutes ago when we said goodbye to Aiko and Ken'ichi. What happened between then and now to piss you off?"

Sakura growled and readjusted the tote bag on her shoulder. "What happened?" She asked, her voice like acid. "Well, I'm alone with _you_, am I not? That's enough to piss anyone off."

"What a drag," Shikamaru groaned.

The two walked a little further and approached the top of a hill.

"Hey," Shikamaru said, stopping abruptly. Sakura stopped a few feet behind him. "What is it?"

Shikamaru turned around with a smile. "Come look."

Sakura frowned and walked up to meet the lazy ninja. She was taken aback by the beautiful sight.

The hill they were standing atop was the highest point in sight, overlooking a vast seaside valley. From way up here, they could see a medium-sized town on the water's edge.

"We're here," Shikamaru said, looking at his pink-haired teammate. "Now is the time to really focus on the mission at hand and start acting out our parts."

Sakura's face fell. "Right," she said, disgruntled. "I have to be your unattractive wife while you flirt with a prostitute. Can't wait."

Shikamaru sighed and threw his head back. "Sakura, seriously. Will you give it a rest? No one said you're unattractive and, believe me, I'm not too keen on dealing with this Anzu lady either. If we even _find_ her, that is."

Sakura blew her bangs aside. "Let's just get this over with already." She began to descend into the valley and towards the town.

As the two neared the town's entrance, Shikamaru began to feel increasingly anxious about having to act with Sakura. Usually he felt confident about how a mission would play out, especially when it required this much planning. He was a master strategist and usually had some sort of control over the events that took place, but this time was different. Sakura was hotheaded and - worst of all - not listening to reason. She was acting on emotion and there was no telling if and when the kunoichi would cooperate with him.

The two ninja approached the town gate and shared a glance. "Ready for this?" Shikamaru asked. Sakura sighed and held out her hand. "No."

Shikamaru took a hold of her hand, noting how stiff she became at his touch. She was bristling with tension, the air around her feeling heavy and stifling. This was going to be long and difficult unless he could do something to fix this. If only he could make her see - he wasn't the bad guy she thought he was!

The two passed through the town gates of Tsumi and immediately took in their surroundings.

Shikamaru turned to his supposed wife and gave a fake smile. "Remember, we have to look like we're on vacation. Take in the sights and pretend to be amazed," He whispered as the two walked along the cobblestone path.

"I know, I know," Sakura said. "We should first check into a hotel and establish that as our base of operations. That way, we'll always have a place to return to and a guaranteed place to stay."

Shikamaru nodded. "Let's find a hotel, honey," he said, slightly louder than normal. With any hope, a civilian would hear him and give directions.

His wishes were granted.

A group of women, slightly older than the two leaf ninja, were walking by when Shikamaru announced his desire to find a hotel. One of them stopped and looked at the couple.

"Hi, are you two new here?" She asked kindly.

Shikamaru smiled and nodded, bringing Sakura's hand up and clasping his other hand over it. "We're on vacation."

"Well, there are only a few hotels in town, but I'm sure there should be some space for you two. If you just go straight from here, you'll find them. The first you'll find is hotel Tsumi, that'll be on your right. If you go a little further, you'll see the one closer to the beach, hotel Sea Foam. It's a little more expensive per night, but it's beautiful."

"Thank you," Sakura said, leaning her head on Shikamaru's arm. Shikamaru smiled as the woman returned to her group of friends. "See, honey? That was easy."

Sakura's eyes shot daggers at him.

"Let's check out the hotels, shall we?" Shikamaru said, avoiding Sakura's poisonous glare.

The two walked for some distance before coming across what seemed to be hotel Tsumi. From the outside it appeared to be a small quaint little place. The outer walls were a combination of cobblestone and wood, and the slanting roof was covered in black shingles. The capacity was small, judging from the building's relatively tiny size. They'd be lucky to find space there, but it looked cozy enough.

"Want to check out the inside?" Shikamaru asked.

Sakura gave him a defiant look. "No," she replied. "I don't like it."

"Do you want to go to the other hotel then?"

"I don't know, genius," Sakura spat.

Shikamaru felt his eye twitch involuntarily. Sakura was doing everything in her power to push his buttons, and it was working. Looking both ways to see if anyone was watching, Shikamaru discreetly but quickly pulled the pink-haired kunoichi into a narrow alley by the hotel.

"Hey, watch it!" Sakura yelped, pulling her hand free of Shikamaru's grip and giving him an angry glare. "What was that all about?"

Shikamaru gave her a hard stare. "Lower your voice, first of all."

"Fine," She huffed.

"You need to drop the attitude and remember that the mission is the top priority here," Shikamaru whispered sternly.

Sakura's eyes widened. "How dare you?!" She cried. "_I'm_ the one who needs to drop the attitude?! You need to stop treating me like shit and start acting like I'm a person! I have feelings, too! And what's with all of your sweet-talking nonsense?"

"I know you are, Sakura," he began with a sigh. "I know you're upset still, but I'm not _trying_ to be mean to you. And remember what Tsunade said? We need to convince everyone around us that we are a couple, even through our subtle interactions with one another. We can't be too over-the-top or it'll come across as fake. We also can't downplay our roles or it'll be obvious that we aren't really married. I need you to cooperate with me, you understand? You've been nothing but defiant and moody so far and that's a really good way to get the both of us killed."

Sakura lowered her gaze to the ground. As much as she hated to admit it, Shikamaru was right. She _had_ been doing everything she could to make things difficult for him, and really she was hurting the both of them in the process. She was wallowing in her own self-pity and at what cost? She could blow their cover and get them killed. Tsunade trusted them to do this job because she knew they were smart and the most fit for the job. The Hokage put her faith in her, and there was no way she could let her shishou down_._

"I'm sorry, Shikamaru," Sakura said, looking regretful but unhappy that he was right. She stared at the ground sheepishly. "I _have _been acting selfish and moody and there's absolutely no reason for me to jeopardize the mission because I feel sorry for myself. There's no excuse for that."

Shikamaru looked into his mission partner's emerald eyes as they continued to look at her feet. They were darkened with a genuine sadness and regret. He sighed lightly – maybe she would finally cooperate with him and they could get this mission going without a hitch. "Thank you for understanding, Sakura," he said. "We need to get along and I don't like arguing. It's too troublesome. Let's just get to the other hotel and check it out, okay?"

Sakura nodded and offered her hand, and the two emerged from the alley hand-in-hand. "So, what was this other hotel called? Hotel Sea Foam?" Sakura inquired as they walked down the street. Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, Hotel Sea Foam. Sounds like a beachy place to me, honestly. Perhaps it's along the shoreline or something."

"Do you really think it could be _on_ the beach?" Sakura asked. "That would be pretty nice."

Shikamaru let out a slow breath. "Well, it would make our job easier, that's for sure. We're supposed to spend a lot of time on the beach. Might as well have it right where we're staying, right?"

The two walked further along the street until they could clearly see a vast expanse of turquoise water stretch across the horizon. The air was filled with the sound of seabirds and people on the beach. "We're close!" Sakura said, pulling her hand free of Shikamaru's and running up ahead.

"Sakura, wait," Shikamaru cried, running after her. He caught up to the pink-haired kunoichi, who had stopped and begun to stare in amazement. Her mouth was wide open, and Shikamaru followed her gaze to the building in front of them.

It wasn't hard to understand why Sakura was seemingly lost for words. The structure in front of them was large, tall, and classy. The sides of the building were made of tan-colored polished granite, which was no doubt just as expensive as it looked. Potted tropical plants were situated at the entrance, adding a natural feel to the place. Pastel colored awnings shaded every doorway from the bright sun, and upon further inspection Shikamaru could see that each guest room had a balcony. This was hotel Sea Foam, and that woman who gave them directions was right – it was beautiful.

Shikamaru turned to Sakura. "So, you want to stay at this hotel instead?" He asked. She looked at him in surprise, her eyes shining eagerly. "_Can_ we?" She clasped her hands together and gave him her best puppy-dog eyes. Shikamaru shielded his eyes and turned away, smiling. "Alright, alright, just stop it with the eyes!" He joked. "Come on, let's go inside and see if they can fit us in."

The two walked up to the entryway and opened the heavy glass doors. Sakura gasped lightly when they walked into the hotel lobby, holding onto Shikamaru's arm as they walked.

"Hello and welcome to hotel Sea Foam," the woman behind the lobby desk greeted cheerfully. Sakura continued to take in the surroundings as Shikamaru discussed the rooming situation with the lady. It was just as beautiful inside the hotel as it was out. The polished stone walls were warm and inviting despite their cool hardness. A wine-colored carpet padded the parts of the floor that received the heaviest traffic, leading to the desk and out of the lobby, presumably to the hallways and rooms. Furniture made of white fabric and a rich mahogany wood decorated the sitting spaces, and more potted leafy palm plants were arranged along the walls and in the corners. In the waiting area, a giant water wall filled the room with the relaxing sound of trickling water. Sakura let out a dreamy sigh.

"Did you catch that, miss?"

The sound of the receptionist's voice shook Sakura out of her reverie. "I'm afraid I didn't," Sakura admitted. "Would you mind repeating it for me?"

The lady smiled and leaned forward on her desk. "It turns out that we do have two types of room available. You can have either an inside room with a hot tub or a room with a balcony overlooking the beach. Your husband says that the price of either type of room is just within budget, so it's up to you to decide which room you want."

Sakura looked at Shikamaru for an answer. He shrugged and gave a warm smile, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer. "I'm good with either one, darling," he said. "The hot tub could be romantic, but it's hard to pass up the fresh air and the view from the balcony. It's your choice."

Sakura thought about that for a moment and settled on the easy choice. "Can we have a balcony room?" She asked Shikamaru. He nodded and looked at the lady behind the desk. "A balcony room _does_ sound nice," he agreed.

The lady nodded and began typing into her computer. "Will you be paying with cash or credit?" she asked, looking up from the artificial light of the computer monitor. Shikamaru widened his eyes for a second before pulling out his wallet. "Credit," he said with a smile, handing over a blue card. The lady took it and began typing some numbers into the computer.

"Name?"

"Uh…" Shikamaru paused, worry clouding his eyes for such a brief moment that if Sakura didn't know Shikamaru, she wouldn't have noticed it.

"Shikamaru," he said. Sakura looked at him in alarm, wondering why on earth he would use his real name when they were supposed to be under cover.

"No last name?" the receptionist asked, pausing her typing to quirk an eyebrow at the couple.

"Don't have one," Shikamaru said.

"Well… alright…" the lady said hesitantly. "Your card went through just fine, so everything checks out. Here are your room keys," she said, handing a card key to both Sakura and Shikamaru and returning the credit card. "You two will be staying in room 428. Go down the hallway to your right and take that elevator and you should be able to find your room."

"Thank you," Shikamaru said, squeezing Sakura's shoulder. The two of them headed down the hall to the elevator as directed by the receptionist. Once they were out of sight, Sakura dropped the act and distanced herself from Shikamaru ever so slightly. She would try to be civil around him, but she had no desire to be all lovey-dovey with him when she didn't need to be.

"So, why did you use your real name?" Sakura asked once the two of them were in the elevator alone.

Shikamaru pushed the 4th floor button. "We're so far from the leaf village that I figured it won't be much of a problem to use our first names. With fake names comes a lack of trust, and we might slip up and call each other by our real names anyways. That would just ruin the illusion we're trying to create."

Sakura frowned at him worriedly. She didn't quite follow his logic, but seeing as he was always thinking multiple steps ahead, she didn't question it. Instead, she brought up another worry.

"So... how are you paying for this?" Sakura asked, stealing a guilty glance at her mission partner. "I sure hope this isn't coming out-of-pocket."

Shikamaru chuckled. "Hell no, I would never be able to afford this hotel if it was coming out of my pocket. At least not for as long as we might be staying for."

"Then how…?"

"Lady Tsunade knew that staying here and enacting her plan would get expensive, so she opened an account specifically for this mission. There is a limited amount of money in it, but it should cover hotel costs."

The elevator chimed, signaling their arrival on the fourth floor.

…

"…426… 427… Ah! Here it is, room 428," Sakura said, sliding her card key into the electronic lock. The light on the handle turned to green and there was a click. Sakura smiled and turned the knob, eager to see what awaited them in the hotel room. Shikamaru followed after her, not quite sharing her enthusiasm but excited to see the room all the same.

Her mouth fell open as she walked through the large spacious room and headed right for the balcony, which was separated from the rest of the room by thin linen curtains and a sliding glass door. She walked out onto the balcony and leaned out, gasping at the sight.

Shikamaru walked into the room slowly and took note of the surroundings. An aqua blue rug carpeted most of the hardwood floor, the walls a clean eggshell white. He looked to his left and saw a spacious closet next to an open door, presumably leading to the bathroom. Shikamaru decided to check it out.

The bathroom was pristine and white without feeling too sterile or foreign. It felt welcoming and homey and he instantly felt himself relax a little. He walked back out of the bathroom and looked at Sakura, who was out on the balcony still. He felt himself smile involuntarily as he watched the pink-haired kunoichi out in the sun. Her hair was ruffled ever so slightly by the gentle sea breeze and he could guess that she was smiling a wide, genuine smile.

She was beautiful when she wasn't threatening to kill him.

She turned and saw him standing there by the bed and motioned for him to come join her out on the balcony. His smile grew and he obliged.

Shikamaru walked onto the balcony. It was small but cozy, partially shielded from the hot sun by a coral-pink awning. A small round table and two white beach chairs sat in the shade, but there was enough space to pull them into the sun if one so wished.

"So, do you like the room?" Shikamaru asked her, leaning on the balcony railing. She turned to him and gave a small smile.

Sakura's emerald eyes were a much brighter shade than before, in the alley. Her eyes were so expressive and beautiful.

"It's wonderful, Shikamaru," she said breathlessly. "Look at the view!"

Shikamaru looked out and saw the beach far below them, the ocean stretching as far as the eye could see. "I bet you can see some kickass sunsets from here," he mused. The two stood there for a while in comfortable silence, taking in the fresh air and the gorgeous view.

Finally, Sakura spoke. "So, what do we do now?"

"Well, I suppose we can either stay here and relax a little or we can start investigating… you know, go to the beach, show everyone there that we're "in love" and all that jazz… look for any clues about the killings," he reasoned. "Personally I'd rather stay here and sleep… but that's just me."

Sakura smiled. "That sounds like a nice idea actually. I'm kinda beat from all of this travel… and it's not often that we actually get the chance to relax on a mission."

The two walked back into the room and shut the sliding glass door behind them.

"Oh, hell no," Sakura said, raising her voice.

There was just one bed. Just one.

"There's only one?" Shikamaru asked, feeling his anxiety begin to crawl up his throat. Though he cared for the hotheaded kunoichi, he did not want this right now. This only added fuel to their tension. There was no way they could both sleep in the same bed, no matter how large it may be. It looked wide enough for three people to sleep on, and realistically they could probably both take a side and never run a chance of invading the other's space, but there was no way to bring that point up to her without enraging her further. He didn't want to add 'pervert' to the growing list of labels Sakura had assigned him over the past few days.

"I changed my mind," Sakura said, her tone much sharper than when they were out on the balcony. "Let's go to the beach."

"Are you sure?" Shikamaru asked her, eyes widened in worry.

Sakura looked at him fiercely. "We'll discuss the bed issue later," she said. "Let's just go to the beach now. We can't get too lazy on this mission."

Shikamaru sighed. "I suppose you're right."

Sakura shuffled through her purse and pulled out a scroll from her weapons pouch. In a puff of smoke, it opened up and revealed a few outfits and, from what Shikamaru could see, swimsuits.

She grabbed a green bikini and a bright yellow beach coverup and headed toward the bathroom. "I suggest you change too," she said icily.

She slammed the door louder than necessary and Shikamaru let out a groan. Since when had Sakura become this hardened, unfriendly stranger? She had always had a bit of a fiery temper, but most of the time she was sweet and cared about her teammates. And now... now she was nothing but hostile and moody as all hell. Any little thing he said or did - and even the things out of his control - had the power to set her over the edge. What changed?

Shikamaru massaged his temple with two fingers and gave a frustrated sigh. Maybe _he_ was the problem... she had very few actual issues with Naruto or Sai from what he could tell. Sure, they had their little squabbles, but she never seemed this angry with them, nor did she seem to hold a grudge like she was holding with Shikamaru.

He bent down and looked through his backpack for the scroll of beach things he packed. He stopped fumbling and paused to think again.

Maybe she really didn't like him, he realized with a bit of sadness. Maybe he really _was _the problem.

He wasn't content with that answer though. That just couldn't be. Once upon a time they were good friends. They used to play together all the time when they were younger and they had always had a comfortable relationship. And now that Sakura seemed to dislike him with every fiber of her being, he was perplexed. Could it really be all because of the bikini contest? She only started to bear this incredible grudge when she learned what the judges said about her and the fact that Shikamaru had been one of the judges.

Shikamaru clenched a fist and frowned. He hadn't held the same opinion as other judges at all... but Sakura didn't know that. If only there was a way of letting her know that without telling her the blatant embarrassing truth! There was no preedicting how she'd react if she heard Shikamaru's judging comments, and out of embarrassment he preferred that she didn't hear them at all. He couldn't handle her rejection, and it would make the mission too uncomfortable. Telling her would ruin everything.

For now, he'd have to grin and bear it, taking the brunt of her anger and frustration. With any luck, they would come to an agreement and things could go back to the way they were when they were friends.

The bathroom door clicked open and Sakura walked out, carrying her tote bag and a towel. She was wearing the yellow coverup as a strapless dress, the bright green straps of her bikini tied behind her neck. "You ready to go or not?"

Shikamaru cringed a little and went back to hastily searching his bag. "Not yet," he said hurriedly. His hand closed around the large scroll of beach things and he pulled it out.

In a puff of smoke, an array of beach attire and towels and things appeared. Shikamaru selected a pair of dark green swim trunks and felt eyes on him. He reluctantly glanced up at Sakura, who, sure enough, was glaring angrily.

"Don't get mad at me for not being ready yet, Sakura. I was waiting for you to finish changing," Shikamaru said matter-of-factly, standing up. "I'm going to go change now. Feel free to take whatever else you want for the beach."

…

This whole situation was downright uncomfortable when it shouldn't have been. Mission partners needed to be comfortable with one another in order for things to go as planned, and so far this was nothing but torture. Shikamaru wasn't sure how they would ever complete the mission if things kept going the way they were.

And now he found himself on the beach with Sakura, whose negativity was almost palpable. Though she put on a cheery exterior for their husband-and-wife act, Shikamaru could sense the hatred rolling off of her in waves. She was in just as foul of a mood as ever, and it seemed that even the littlest of things could set her off. Shikamaru felt like he was walking on eggshells around her.

They were sitting on a large beach blanket, shaded by the beach umbrella Shikamaru packed. Normally this would be the perfect time to nap, but they had a job to do. While he was reclined on the blanket, Shikamaru scanned the area for any suspicious activity.

Really though, this wouldn't reveal anything if the criminal they were looking for was as skilled as Tsunade had warned. Anzu wouldn't be careless, she would blend in just as the two leaf ninja were attempting to do. Still, Shikamaru felt hopeful that this would be a good place to look. At the very least, they would make themselves known to other beachgoers and this would help strengthen the image they were assigned to create.

So far, they had only interacted with one person on the beach, and it had been a woman who seemed more interested in Shikamaru than anything else. Sakura played the part of the jealous wife very convincingly and made sure the woman knew they were 'married,' but not before the damage was already done. She was angrier than ever, and Shikamaru was sure he would pay the price.

"So, _darling_," Shikamaru began, glancing over at his pink-haired companion. "Are you still angry with me?"

Sakura's glare shot daggers at Shikamaru, and he got his answer right away.

"How troublesome… ugh. Sakura, what's wrong?"

"What do you think, genius?" She asked, lowering her voice. Her tone was dark and dangerous again.

"For crying out loud, Sakura…" Shikamaru groaned, throwing his head back. "That woman wasn't hitting on me. If this is just an act, why are you so angry?"

Sakura growled. "First of all, you said to make this as believable as possible. That means acting out the part at all times as long as we're in public, correct?"

Shikamaru sighed. "…Correct."

Sakura gave him a smug look. "Then why would I drop the 'jealous wife' act?"

"I can tell that you're mad at me for real, though."

Sakura furrowed her brow. "Well I can't figure out why that skank hit on you. Why _you_?"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Do I detect jealousy?"

Sakura's face reddened and she turned away quickly. "Oh please. Get over yourself."

Shikamaru adjusted his sunglasses and smirked to himself. Whether or not Sakura intended to sound jealous was something Shikamaru didn't care to analyze, but the prospect still brought a goofy smile to his face.

"I mean, why would she hit on_ you_? Sorry, but you're not exactly the most attractive guy here."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. Ouch.

"Well I know I'm not the most attractive person in the world, Sakura. I don't intend to be, either. I'm perfectly aware of the fact that I'm average-looking at best."

"Hmph. Whatever."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and leaned back onto the blanket with a light groan. It was nice and warm out here, and really he could just fall asleep. It would be so easy and he could temporarily escape from the tension caused by his angry teammate. Then again, falling asleep in the sun with this much skin exposed was a great way to get a sunburn. Shikamaru hated being sunburned.

"Come on, big boy, let's go back to my place!" A loud and rather annoying voice called from about 20 feet away.

"Shikamaru, look," Sakura said, sounding concerned.

"What a drag," Shikamaru muttered, sitting up and looking out over his sunglasses. "What is it?"

Sakura was looking forward and Shikamaru followed her gaze. It wasn't hard to see what she was looking at. Closer to the shoreline stood a woman with long brown hair and a very skimpy black bikini. She had what most women would call a perfect figure, with a slender waist and large breasts and hips.

Ick.

Shikamaru immediately sensed something off about her and he didn't like it.

"Come on," she called. That loud voice from before had belonged to her, and it was definitely what Shikamaru would consider annoying.

A man who looked to be older than her joined her by the shoreline, and the two walked away. The scene would have gone relatively unnoticed by other beachgoers, or at least not considered important enough to acknowledge, but Shikamaru and Sakura were attentive.

The two leaf ninja exchanged a glance as soon as the couple had left the vicinity. "That was rather odd, don't you think?" Sakura asked. "I mean, it wasn't necessarily what she said or how they acted that makes me wonder, but..."

"There was just something weird about her," Shikamaru said, finishing Sakura's thought. "Something about that whole thing just felt strange to me too. I can't say exactly why though."

Sakura nodded at her teammate. "Maybe I'm crazy, but the woman had this ominous chakra, I could feel it. She was suppressing it, but it was a pretty feeble attempt because I could still sense it."

Shikamaru widened his eyes. "I didn't even notice that. Do you think she's a ninja? And if so, what does it mean?"

"I'm not sure what it means, but it could be important. Let's talk about this more back in the room," Sakura suggested.

"Good call," Shikamaru said.

The two stood up and began packing up their beach stuff. Shikamaru picked up the blanket and began to shake off the sand while Sakura folded the umbrella.

"Hurry up so we can have a little fun back in the room," Sakura said in that overly sweet acting tone of hers, only this time her voice was tinged with seductive undertones. Anyone around them would suspect that the husband and wife duo was just going back to their hotel room to be together, but Shikamaru knew it was a farce. He cursed silently, hating himself for how much he loved hearing her say those words to him.

_Dammit woman, don't tease me..._

He hated himself for wishing she meant it, but he knew it was all just an act.

...

"That woman had chakra," Sakura said as soon as they arrived back in the hotel room.

"Yeah, you said that before," Shikamaru said, setting down the beach blanket and umbrella into the open closet space. "If she had chakra and she was attempting to suppress it, then there's reason to assume that she's a ninja."

Sakura adjusted her yellow beach coverup. She hadn't taken it off once, even when they were on the beach sunbathing. In Shikamaru's opinion it looked rather cute on her, though he didn't want to admit that to her. "If she's a ninja, then there's a very slight possibility that could have been our target."

"...Or she could just be a regular old shinobi on vacation," Shikamaru reasoned. "She could have been suppressing her chakra to hide her ninja status because it's dangerous in this town and she doesn't want to be killed. It's also possible that she_ is_ the target and she was only suppressing her chakra poorly because she didn't think there were others nearby who could sense it. It's hard to tell at this point, but at least we have someone to keep an eye on for now."

Sakura looked hopeful. "And if you think about it, her behavior matched the profile of the target according to lady Tsunade. I mean, she _was_ physically attractive, which would make sense considering her background as a prostitute. She was also pushy and loud and she had a man in tow."

In Shikamaru's opinion, it seemed as though all women were pushy and loud, but he could see Sakura's point. Still...

"For all we know, she _could_ be the one we're looking for. You're right about that. We can't do anything until we're certain about it though. It couldn't just be _that_ easy to find her, could it?" Shikamaru said.

Sakura set her bag down on the bed and began rifling through her things. "I know it seems highly unlikely that we could just find our criminal target so easily, but we can't just rule her out either. We need a lot more evidence before we can make a move."

She pulled out a hairbrush and a change of clothes and headed off to the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower to rinse off the sand," she said, closing the door.

Shikamaru sighed and reclined on the bed. "Alright," he said. "Enjoy."

* * *

><p>Sakura swallowed the last of her drink and slammed the glass down on the table. "Another," she said, her voice cold and distant. Shikamaru looked on as his 'wife' demanded her fifth drink that night. "Sakura..."<p>

Sakura looked at him, a fierce rage burning in her otherwise glazed-over eyes. "I need this Shikamaru, and don't you fucking tell me otherwise, you ass-faced cuntmuffin."

Drunken Sakura had a way with colorful insults, Shikamaru had discovered. "Sakura, I think you should just slow down a little, that's all. Be safe."

The two had gone to the local bar upon Sakura's request (well, _demands_), and so far the night was turning out worse than Shikamaru imagined.

After a terrible day, getting drunk was exactly what Sakura felt the need to do. She didn't do it often because, well, she was a medic for goodness sakes! She knew the harmful effects that alcohol had on the body, but the pink-haired kunoichi seemed to occasionally turn to one of her mentor's bad habits when she needed an escape.

Today was a day from hell and Sakura felt she needed a good hard drinking session. She had been paired with that lazy asshole Shikamaru to play husband and wife and already it was torture. She honestly didn't have any negative feelings toward Shikamaru prior to Tsunade's mission briefing, but upon hearing what those imbecile judges said about her, she found out just what kind of person Shikamaru really was. That hurt.

On top of her new-found dislike of the Nara (or, perhaps, _because_ of her disdain) his mannerisms pissed her off to no end. He was so into playing his role as the husband and it sickened her. He had the sweet-talking down pat, which worked in their favor, but seriously, it was getting really irritating really fast. She was _not_ his sweetheart.

Just as she was settling down a little and they were starting their investigation on the beach, Shikamaru set her off again.

...Even though it wasn't _really_ his fault. He wasn't asking for some bimbo to flirt with him, but blaming him for everything was the easier option. But then he refused to let her go drinking alone, which resulted in her sour mood at the bar.

Shikamaru was convinced that she really was drunk, which actually worked in Sakura's favor. She was a medical ninja and could filter a majority of the alcohol from her bloodstream and make her body metabolize it faster. Shikamaru didn't know that, though, so she could appear wasted without actually being intoxicated. She could spew insults at him to her heart's content and he couldn't blame her because she was 'drunk.'

The bartender came over with another drink for Sakura, and she took it eagerly. She held the cold glass between her hands and felt a tingle down her spine. Without openly showing her alarm, she casually glanced over her shoulder. Her suspicions were confirmed and she saw the same man and woman from the beach, only now the woman was wearing a skintight red dress and her eyes scanned the crowd hungrily. Sakura had felt the woman's chakra as soon as she entered the room.

Her long, glossy brown hair fell over her shoulders in waves and ended mid-waist. She was wearing a considerable amount of dramatic makeup – bold smoky eyeshadow, dark mascara, and bright red lipstick. She had high, well-defined cheekbones, and her lips had a bit of a natural pout to them. Her expression was calm, cool, and in-control. Hungry. Bitchy.

Sakura turned around in her seat and took a deep breath. What she was about to do would either be humiliating or it would give them information, but she was going to have to really put on a show here. It was the time to act wasted and get the woman's attention.

Sakura giggled loudly and took a long swig of her drink, one hand lightly shoving Shikamaru on the shoulder.

"Sakura, I think you've had enough to drink," Shikamaru said, concerned. "C'mon, let's just go."

"Whaaaat? Nooo," Sakura slurred loudly, putting a goofy grin on her face. "I think yoou've had n-... uhh, _not_ enough to drink, that's the problem."

Shikamaru held out his hands cautiously. "Sh-shh, keep your voice down," he said quietly. "You're starting to create a scene."

Sakura haphazardly glanced behind her and saw the woman still standing across the room, but she was watching them curiously.

Okay, we've piqued her interest. Now it's time to seal the deal.

Sakura stared until she made eye contact with the woman, and when their eyes met Sakura gave her best lazy drunken smile. The woman narrowed her eyes, smiled, and began to approach the leaf ninja.

Yes! _Gotcha_!

"You, you know what?" Sakura slurred to Shikamaru. She was really laying it on thick here, and she hoped this would pay off. "Your hair is shaped like a pineapple. You ever nnnotice that?"

Shikamaru looked at Sakura worriedly. "Sakura, I need to take you home," he said, lowering his voice. "If you drink any more, you're going to get hurt and I don't want that to happen. I don't want you to be sick."

He was speaking from his heart, and his concern wasn't just an act, but it didn't really matter whether or not Sakura knew that. His genuine concern could easily pass as convincing acting if it had to.

"I'm fiiiine."

Shikamaru had a light frown on his face, his characteristic 'how troublesome' expression forming. He also looked weary and it was at that moment that Sakura realized how hard she was making it for Shikamaru.

Wow. Now that she thought about it, she realized that he was being incredibly tolerant of all her bullshit. She didn't need to fire those harsh insults at him, no matter how upset she was at the time. Though she still wasn't too fond of him at the moment, she still had enough mind to take a step back and appreciate that he calmly sat through all of her verbal assault while taking it like a champ. He hadn't fired back once, and she could see that her attacks were running him ragged. Maybe she should ease up a bit.

"Hi, are you two new here?" A deep, sultry voice asked from behind their bar stools. They both turned and faced the other direction to see that woman standing close.

"As a matter of fact, we are," Shikamaru said warily. "Is that a concern of yours?"

The woman looked a bit shocked by Shikamaru's attitude, but she smirked all the same. "I was just curious, that's all," she shrugged. "I don't know, I just felt... drawn to you," she continued, giving Sakura a glance. Sakura gave a sloppy smile and threw in a hiccup for good measure.

"You seem like such a nice couple," the woman continued. "What are your names?"

"Miiine's Sakura," the pink-haired kunoichi slurred. "This here's my hubby Shika-kun."

Shikamaru gave Sakura a pained look before looking back at the woman. "You'll have to excuse my wife," he apologized. "She's had a few too many. The name's Shikamaru."

The woman squinted and smiled amiably at Shikamaru, which should have eased any worries that he had, but there was still something off about her. "My name is Anzu. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Shikamaru felt his heart stop upon hearing the woman's name. He looked at his 'wife,' hoping that he didn't appear too surprised, and right away he caught her glance.

Her eyes sobered for a second and immediately he knew what she was up to.

"Anzu, you said?" Shikamaru asked. The woman nodded.

"What a pretty name."

Anzu smirked and shifted her weight, sticking out her hip a little. Her gaze hadn't left the face of the lazy leaf ninja, and she almost appeared infatuated.

So that was the reason Sakura created such a big scene. She must have sensed that Anzu had entered the room and made a scene to get her attention. Sakura's gut instinct had paid off tremendously, it seemed. Now it was time to play along and get closer to Anzu and see if she was the one they were looking for.

"You think my name is pretty?" Anzu flirted, leaning on the back of his bar stool.

Shikamaru gulped and glanced at his 'wife,' who had busied herself with swirling the drink around in her glass.

"Your name isn't the only thing I think is pretty," Shikamaru ventured. Anzu looked surprised for a moment and then gave Shikamaru a knowing glance. "You're not too bad on the eyes either, ponytail," Anzu said. "Not too bad at all. You could stand to smile a little, though. I think a smile would look good on you."

Shikamaru gave her a look that he hoped made him appear interested. "Nah, I don't smile much," he replied. "I look goofy if I smile."

Anzu set a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder and looked at him with a smirk. She had these intimidating golden-colored eyes that gave her the appearance of a cat on the hunt. "Maybe you can come back to my place and I'll see if I can make you smile."

Her flirting was disgustingly blatant, and if he could, he would be rolling his eyes. She was so predatory and her attempts to lure him in were smooth but obvious. He supposed that an unhappy or desperate man might fall for her without second thought.

Shikamaru looked at Anzu with wide eyes. "Oh, I don't know... I can't. I'd love to, but I really should be taking care of my wife," he said, looking both apologetic and reluctant. He needed to keep Anzu's attention enough to get close to her, but he still had to stay in character. He was playing the role of a man so enamored with his wife that he would never consider cheating... unless it was with Anzu.

Anzu pouted a little. "Oh come on, it'll be fun! She's too drunk to even care at the moment, so why not?"

Shikamaru looked at Sakura lovingly. "My conscience wouldn't let me do that."

After a sigh, Shikamaru continued. "...Maybe we can do something some other time, though," he said, lowering his voice and giving what he hoped was a suggestive look. Anzu smiled and narrowed her eyes. "That sounds good. I'll be seeing you around, then?"

"Oh, you bet."

Anzu gave him a nod and began to walk towards the other man and out of sight.

The two leaf ninja were silent for a few moments, until Sakura put down her glass. "She's gone. I can't feel her chakra in here."

She turned to Shikamaru with a wide grin and caught his amazed look.

"How? How did you know!?" He cried, ecstatic.

"I just had a feeling," Sakura said, equally as excited. "Oh, give me a hug!"

Shikamaru pulled the pinkette into an embrace without second thought and squeezed her tight. "This is huge," he said, pulling apart and facing her.

Sakura was thrilled that the ridiculous act she put on actually paid off. "Let's go back to the room," she said, lowering her voice. "I'm going to be the drunken wife again, so you play the concerned husband okay?"

The two stood up from their bar stools. "Let's take you back, sweetie," Shikamaru said aloud.

"But I'm fiiiiine," Sakura slurred, stumbling out of her seat.

Shikamaru put her arm around his shoulders and supported her as they walked. "You need some rest."

The two walked like this all the way back to the hotel. Sakura made sure to appear intoxicated without overdoing it. She walked clumsily while Shikamaru supported her and made sure she didn't fall. They had gotten a few odd looks from passerby, but Shikamaru paid little attention to them. He didn't like being judged, but it was all part of the act and he'd need to grin and bear it.

They arrived at the hotel shortly after they left the bar. As they entered the lobby and began walking past the desk, Shikamaru couldn't help but notice the strange and disapproving look they were getting from the receptionist.

Well, this probably didn't look too good. He wasn't about to go take advantage of his intoxicated wife, but he realized it probably seemed that way.

Shikamaru cleared his throat and stopped in front of the desk. "Hi, can I get an extra ice bucket sent up to room 428?"

The receptionist nodded, though she still looked unsure.

Shikamaru smiled. "Thanks. My wife had a few too many and I want to make sure she drinks enough water."

They continued to the elevator and all the way up to the fourth floor before separating and walking as though they hadn't just been drinking.

Sakura unlocked their room and the two went inside. When the door was shut and they were sure no one else was around, Sakura began jumping up and down excitedly. "I can't believe we did that! This is huge!"

Shikamaru sighed and sat down in the desk chair beside the bed. "I'm having a hard time believing that we pulled it off, but we did! I think she's interested enough in me to want to get closer, but we established our roles very well."

Sakura flopped down on the bed, a huge smile on her face. "I just had this feeling about her," she said in amazement. "I had a hunch."

"And you didn't even let me in on it," commented Shikamaru. "You had me so convinced that you were actually wasted. It's probably better that I thought you were, though. It made for a more realistic reaction."

Sakura turned to Shikamaru. "Did you see the way she was eating you up? That _has_ to be our target! I mean, how many women in this town match the criteria so well? I mean, her name, her behavior..."

Shikamaru smiled. "I can't believe she would let her guard down like that and revealed her identity. If her name _is_ actually Anzu, then this is huge. We now know what she looks like, what beach she frequents, and even the bar that she visits."

Sakura folded her arms and smirked. "You're welcome."

"Seriously, thank you Sakura. This gives us so much more to work with. Very convincing acting."

"You did very well too."

"And now we can move on with it," Shikamaru continued. "You know, play our parts as the vacationing couple while we track her. We'll run into her a few times, get closer, gather enough information, and if she's the one, we kill her."

Sakura nodded thoughtfully. "We can't run into her too often, though, or she'll know something's up. We need to take it slow and act like a couple on vacation. We can't just run in there and kill her without solid evidence."

"We have to be cautious," Shikamaru agreed. "There's a good chance that she didn't suspect much when she shared her name, but it doesn't mean we can keep our guard down. She'll be careful from here on out."

"You're right about that. So what do you suggest we do tomorrow?"

Shikamaru made a face. "Why are you asking me?"

"You're the tactical genius. What's the game plan?"

He had already thought a little about the plan of action. Right now their most important goal was gaining evidence still, and they couldn't narrow their scope to one suspect just yet. They had to see if anyone else was out there. Besides, if they followed Anzu around, she might get suspicious that something else was going on. They needed to go through a regular vacation day and establish themselves as the vacationing husband and wife.

Shikamaru inwardly blushed, realizing that the option he was thinking of would not only be advantageous to the mission but also it would allow him to spend time with Sakura. Was it wrong of him to benefit from this as well?

"Well, since we're taking the slow and cautious approach, I think we should act like a couple tomorrow. If we run into Anzu, it really will be by chance. We should have a romantic day and establish our characters to everyone around us."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "So what's your idea of a romantic day, then?"

Shikamaru smirked a little. "Well, if I was dating you or married to you, I would first treat you to breakfast in bed, followed by a walk around town so we could do some sightseeing. I'd take you on a romantic picnic for lunch on the beach and then we could lie in the sun while I hold you in my arms. After that we could go for a swim and then return to the hotel and relax or go in the hot tub later. Then we'd order wine and chocolates for a night in."

"That sounds like it would be too troublesome," Sakura teased lightly. "You're too lazy to actually put in that much work."

Shikamaru frowned. "Love is troublesome, yes, but I would gladly do all of those things for the one I care about."

That sentiment was very true, and Shikamaru made a mental note to do everything he mentioned. He was, after all, still rather taken with her despite all of the crap she had given him so far.

Sakura looked down at the bedspread. _It sounds like the perfect mushy romantic day... He's really put thought into it and I hate to admit that I like the sound of that... not with Shikamaru, though! No, I just like the sound of the stuff we're going to do, that's all._

_If that's how he would honestly treat his wife, then it's not wrong for me to be thinking this way about him, right? He's just shown that he'll be the perfect spouse for someone someday._

"Well anyhow, it sounds like you're planning ahead," Sakura said with a yawn.

"When am I _not_ planning ahead?" Shikamaru asked. It was a rhetorical question. Shikamaru was always careful and calculating, staying ten steps ahead of the enemy. Having a day planned out was a no-brainer.

Sakura yawned again and Shikamaru couldn't help but smirk a little. She looked very cute when she was sleepy. "Wanna get to bed soon?" He asked.

Sakura nodded and looked at him wearily. "I call the bed," she said. "Sorry, but we're not sharing."

"I didn't think we were going to," Shikamaru muttered with a sigh.

Sakura gave him a funny look and Shikamaru immediately wondered what he did. Did he accidentally sound disappointed that they would be sleeping separate?

Though he really didn't have his hopes up, there was still that small amount of disappointment that always comes with pseudo-rejection. More importantly, he became worried that Sakura suspected he _did_ feel disappointment and that he _did_ think they were going to share a bed. He wasn't ready for her to find out about his feelings yet.

He sighed again, feeling somewhat vexed and defeated. "I'll sleep on the floor if it makes you happy."

With that, Shikamaru stood up from the desk chair and stretched a little. Sakura handed him a blanket and a pillow from the large bed, and Shikamaru began to make a space for himself on the floor.

Sakura had already crawled under the covers and began to settle in. Shikamaru chuckled to himself, noting how adorable she seemed when she wasn't angrily tearing his head off. Maybe it was the alcohol that made her so sleepy (face it, even though she knew that cool blood filtering trick, she had still consumed quite a lot of alcohol), but it was like someone had flipped a switch. Sakura was out.

Shikamaru walked over to the light switch and turned it off before returning to his spot beside the bed. Taking off his shirt and getting comfortable, he laid back. "Goodnight, Sakura."

* * *

><p><strong>Thoughts? Comments? Constructive criticism? Leave a review! I should have the next chapter up when I can! And as always, thank you for reading :) <strong>

**-Gallade**


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